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50five: connecting smart products with installations

50five is an e-commerce platform that focuses on smart home products and installations. Launched in 2016, 50five quickly scaled up and is now active in five countries.

CEO Isabella Nameche explains how the 50five group could grow so rapidly and what lies ahead for the smart home specialist.

Can you explain what the 50five group is?

The 50five group is the combination of online shops for smart products in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. We also have Ajusto.be, an online marketplace where consumers can quickly, easily and transparently find a qualified professional for work in and around the home.

In the Netherlands, the UK and in Belgium we focus on the combination of smart products and installations of larger services, because there we have a lot of added value for our customers. In the UK we focus more on the installations of energy solutions, while in Belgium there is a stronger focus on jobs in and around the house. In the Netherlands we combine everything into the proposition as a one stop shop for smart products and smart services.

How important is the online platform for 50five?

We fully operate as an online platform. It means that we offer our products and services digitally to customers using our online channels. The sales of our products are 100% digitalised, because we built strong capabilities in e-commerce with a full scalable platform, multi-countries, multi-warehouses, and automated and algorithmic marketing for enhanced SEM functionalities. In our service approach, our ambition is to connect our smart installers through an app to facilitate and manage the dispatching of the installations, while the end user has the option to book his installation online.

What is 50five’s vision for 2019 and beyond?

Home automation is more than convenience: connected homes are safer, smarter, and more energy-efficient. 50five aims to inspire households to become more comfortable, relaxing and safe by introducing the world of smart home technology. This means that we offer a broad portfolio of products and services for in and around the home. From energy saving and efficient heating, to endless lighting possibilities, attentive security solutions and smart audio devices, everything can connect to your smartphone.

What does this mean for the customers of 50five?

It means providing customers with the advice and solutions they need to get their home connected; no other online shop offers complete smart home solutions from start to finish. We can help you select the right smart thermostat, upgrade your boiler or air source heat pump, and guide you through getting the most out of your heating system. We can install a complete home security system and connect it to your smart phone or tablet.

We stay on the cutting edge of trends and technologies to give you smart advice for every smart device.

What are the goals of 50five?

We want households to benefit from the use of smart devices and services by increasing comfort and convenience, improving safety and security and lowering total cost of energy bills through more efficient use of energy. We identified four domains to achieve these goals: smart heating, smart energy, smart security and smart home devices.

Why these four categories?

In the first three years of this company, we had a strong focus on smart heating and smart security solutions. For many customers, these devices were the first entry point in the journey towards smart homes. Once they bought a smart thermostat or smart security camera, the next step was to incorporate more smart products in their homes. That is why we focus on the category smart home. Our definition of a smart home is a home with two or more connected devices from various categories because that creates new possibilities and services. The next step is the world of smart energy solutions.

Why are smart energy solutions a logical step?

The energy proposition was always a part of our business plan and we have been working hard to create the perfect circumstances to be able to roll this out in the five countries we operate. We already have a lot of experience with installing air source heat pumps and EV chargers in the UK and we are now rolling out that proposition in the Netherlands too. We signed contracts with several suppliers of EV chargers and heat pumps, we trained our installers and the processes are now in place to truly expand our portfolio with these products and services.

How important is that combination of products and services?

That is wat sets us apart from our competitors, because we’re the only company that can deliver this combination. We became the specialist in selling smart home products via our digital platform. We know how to fulfil the needs of our customers with tailor made advice via smart configurators and relevant products. We also built a network of certified installers in the several countries, so we’re in the perfect condition to help our customers install these smart products. Especially with the large installations of products such as heat pumps and EV chargers, customers need a company that can deliver the whole process from beginning to end.